When the Gunners play, it is certain that the world would sit and watch for the pure exhilarating football that this team provides every time it sets its foot on the field. With the Premiership about to start, millions of Arsenal fans have already started expecting a sensational performance this time as well. With Arsenal, excitement is guaranteed, victory or no victory. Manager Wenger would undoubtedly be expecting his fourth Premiership title this season. We have already witnessed some pre-match excitement after three captains were changed in three days. This, however, would not be a major cause for worry as William Gallas has been already been officially announced as the skipper for the forthcoming season. This might have come as a disappointment for Gilberto fans as he had excelled in his role the last time. Yet, we believe Gallas would make a fine replacement for Gilberto.

In the premiership league, Arsenal has always managed to draw the ‘oohs’ and the ‘aahs’ every time they hit or missed. With Arsene Wenger putting together a motley team of British talent and International spice, it is definitely going to be a season to watch. In English football, Arsenal has been a giant for quite some time now. And it enters every season with an intention to drive back home with top honors. However, they have also drawn flak for being ‘boring’ a number of times. With the arrival of Wenger, things began to change for the better and they are back again in the reckoning and enjoy crowd support as ever.

On August 12, Arsenal is meeting Fulham in the first of their league matches at Highbury, London. The last time the two teams had played, Arsenal had crushed Fulham with a convincing 3-1 blow on April 29. It appears like Fulham is still not feeling at home in their rented lodging at Loftus Road. Despite this, there is hardly any doubt left about Fulham’s intentions to establish itself as a force to reckon with in the Premiership. They have tried hard so far and hopefully, for them, the results will begin to show this season. However, they wouldn’t have forgotten the Emmanuel Adebayor goal that sunk their hopes of getting even with the Gunners after scoring a crucial goal through Simon Davies. Lawrie Sanchez’s side was further humiliated with a penalty strike in the final moments by then skipper Gilberto. It was their 10th consecutive failed bid to win a match. However, there was a glimpse of a lack of killer instinct in Arsenal the last time. Perhaps, this would be some source of encouragement for Fulham as they look to reverse their fortunes.

Fulham has had a mixed performance in the Premier League. Al-Fayed’s lavish spending on the team did produce some fruitful results as the team won its First Division Title in the year 2001. Since then, they have looked like a team that can give top English clubs a run for their money. Although they had lost to Manchester United 3-2 in their new season, they had managed to woo football fans with a spirited display of top quality football. A couple of steady seasons followed in the Barclaycard Premiership. Fulham still remains the ambitious team that we first saw. And with Steed Malbranque finding his name among the top midfielders of the world, the team would certainly not go down without a courageous fight. With Lawrie replacing Coleman, the side has started showing streaks of aggression that was previously missing.

The match between Arsenal and Fulham is perhaps one of the best starts we could have asked for this season. It is a match between Goliath and David. Although Arsenal might appear the better side on paper, we never know what tricks Fulham has up its sleeve. Wait and watch!